Foundation garment



G. RQSEPERACK FOUNDATION GARMENT 1 Dec. 16, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledNOV. 22, 1954 1958 G. R. SEPERACK 2,864,376

FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed NOV. 22, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Unite StatesFOUNDATION GARMENT Gertrude R. Seperack, Bridgeport, Cnn., assignor toThe Warner Brothers Company, Bridgeport, Conn., a corpoi-anon ofConnecticut Application November 22, 1954, Serial No. 470,199

8 Claims. (Cl. 128-524) This invention relates to ladies foundationgarments and more particularly to girdles formed with a crotch.

' A serious disadvantage of girdles formed with a crotch as'heretoforemade is that they tend to cut into the legs of the wearer adjacent tothe crotch thereby causing discomfort and rendering the girdleobjectionable.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel girdlehaving a crotch portion and which affords maximum comfort to the wearer.

Another object is to provide such a garment having leg engirdlingportions adjacent to a crotch portion which remain flat and unwrinkledwhile the garment is worn thereby ensuring maximum comfort.

In accordance with this invention theleg engirdling portions of a girdleadjacent to the crotch portion thereof are provided with stiffeners.Preferably, the stitfeners are elongated resilient stays or bones andextend downwardly in the direction away from the crotch along the legengirdling portions.

This invention as well as further objects and advan tages thereof willbe better understood from the following description and the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a girdle embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a detail view of a portion of the girdle corresponding to aview through the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line 33 of Figure 2 in thedirection indicated; and

Figures 4 and 5 are views similar to Figure 2 but of differentembodiments of this invention.

Referring to the drawings, the girdle shown comprises a front paneljoined along opposite sides thereof by suitable stitching to side panels11, 12 each of which may extend rearwardly and may be joined by a seamor otherwise to form the back of the garment as is partially indicatedin Figure 2. In the present instance front panel 10 is formed with acenter .seam 13 extending from crotch piece 14 to the upper edge of thegirdle and both front panel 10 and crotch piece 14 are made of materialwhich is stretchable in one direction disposed so as to be vertically orlongitudinally stretchable. Also, side panels 11 and 12 may be made ofmaterial which is stretchable both horizontally and vertically, i. e.,two-way stretch material. While other arrangements and combinations ofmaterials may be utilized the foregoing is preferred, front panel 10 andside panels 11, 12 being joined together by downwardly extending seams15, 16 to form leg portions and to crotch piece 14 by an endless seam17. A fastener may be conveniently provided adjacent to the upper edgeof the girdle along one of the seams between the front and side panels.As shown, a slide type fastener may be utilized, the slider beingindicated at 18.

When worn, the girdle conforms to the body of the wearer and, as shownin Figure 1, seams 15 and 16 extend downward along substantially thecenter of the in ner sides 19 and 20 of the respective leg engirdlingpor tions of the garment. Some improvement over girdles heretofore inuse may be attained by providing a pocket Patented Dec. 16, 1958directly along each of the seams 15, 16 in which stays or bones may besecured. A further and substantially greater improvement is achieved byproviding stays on either side of each of the seams 15, 16 in that notonly is the possibility of that portion of the garment becoming wrinkledcompletely eliminated but better balance and avoidance of undesirablelocal pressure is ensured. As shown in Figure 2, pockets 21 extendingobliquely rela tive to seams 15 and 16 areprovided as by stitchingsuitable material along the interior surface of inner sides 19 and 20.Thus, a pocket 21 is provided along each of the lower extremities 10a ofthe front panel and along the lower extremities 11a, 12a of each of theside panels. Elongated resilient stays or bones 22 extend one in each ofsaid pockets 21 and are disposed so that the bones 22 along each of theinner sides 19, 20 form the sides of a triangle while the peripheralportions 23 and 24 of the respective inner sides 19, 20 form the basesthereof. It will be observed that the bones 22 come into close proximitywith each other adjacent to their upper ends while the apex of thetriangular panel portion formed thereby and either of the peripheralportions 23, 24 is located in the median marginal portion of crotchpiece 14.

Stiifeners 22 may be flat steel members or serpentine wire members maybe used which are formed by bending a flexible wire member back andforth upon itself in its own plane as are shown in Figures 4and 5. Suchserpentine wire members while incorporating the desired degree ofresiliency have the further advantage of more perfectly conforming tothe person of the wearer.

Referring now to Figure 4, arcuate pockets 26 may be formed along thelower extremities of the front panel and of each of the side panels toform generally triangular panel portions on the inner sides 19 and 2%)of the leg engirdling portions of the girdle. Serpentine wire members 27are enclosed in each of the pockets 26. Due to the fact that serpentinewire members 2'7 are highly flexible and may readily be bent in alldirections they not only prevent wrinkling or rolling of the innerportions.

of the garment but also permit to an extraordinary degree freedom ofmovement on the part of the wearer.

As shown in Figure 5, a somewhat different configuration may be utilizedby forming pockets 28 which are generally elliptical in shape with theirmajor axes extending along seams 15 and 16 respectively. Resilient andhighly flexible members 29 in the form of serpentine wire members may beused to advantage. Members 29 may be in the form of endless loops.

The number of panels utilized in making the girdle may be varied. Forexample the body of the girdle may be of one piece construction, ifdesired, formed in the proper shape to provide a crotch portion toreceive a crotch piece. In that event, the leg engirdling portions ofthe garment may be seamless but stitleners would be provided in theportions thereof corresponding to portions 19 and 20 as shown.

The terms and expressions which I have employed'are used as terms ofdescription and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the useof such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of thefeatures shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize thatvarious modifications are possible within the scope of the inventionclaimed. V

I claim:

1. A girdle, comprising body and crotch portions, said crotch portionbeing elongated and extending longitudinally between the front and theback of said body portion, the lower portion of said body portionforming leg engirdling portions each of which has an inner side portionadjacent to and extending below said crotch portion, and at least onestiffener connected to' and extending.

along each of said inner side portions and terminating short of saidcrotch portion.

2. A girdle, comprising body and crotch portions, said crotch portionbeing elongated and extending longitudinally between the front and theback of said body portion, the lower portion of said body portionforming leg engirdiing portions each of which has an inner side portionadjacent to and extending below said crotch portion, and at least oneresilient highly flexible serpentine wire member connected to andextending along each of said inner side portions and terminating shortof said crotch portion.

3. A girdle, comprising body and crotch portions, said crotch portionbeing elongated and extending longitudinally between the front and theback of said both portion, the lower portion of said body portionforming leg engirdling portions each of which has an inner side portionadjacent to and extending below said crotch portion, and a plurality ofstiflfeners two extending along each of said inner side portions fromadjacent to said crotch portion toward the peripheral portion of saidinner side p'ortions away from said crotch portion, saidstifienersterminating short of said crotch portion.

4. A girdle, comprising body and crotch portions, said crotch portionbeing elongated and extending longitudinally between the front and theback of said body portion, the lower portion of said body portionforming leg engirdling portions each of which has an inner side portionadjacent to and extending below said crotch portion, said inner sideportions each having amedian line extending downwardly from adjacent tothe horizontal median line of said crotch portion, stifr'ener receivingpockets on said inner side portions extending divcrgently from adjacentto said crotch portion toward the lower peripheral portion of said innerside portions on either side of the median line of each of said innerside portions, and a stiffener in each of said pockets and spaced fromsaid crotch portion.

5. A girdle, comprising body and crotch portions, said crotch portionbeing elongated and extending longitudinally between the front and theback of said body portion, the lower portion of said body portionforming leg engirdling portions each of which has an inner side portionadjacent to and extending below said crotch portion, said inner sideportions each having a median line extending downwardly from adjacent tothe horizontal median line of said crotch portion, a pair of stiffenerreceiving pockets on each of said inner side portions ex tendingdivergently one with the other from adjacent to 7 said crotch portiontoward the lower peripheral portion of said inner side portions, one ofsaid pockets being on either side of the median line of each of saidinner side portions, and a stifiener in each of said pockets and spacedfrom said crotch portion.

6. A girdle, comprising front and side panel portions and a crotchportion joined to form a body encircling garment with the lower portionsof the front panel being stitched to corresponding portions of the sidepanels and forming leg engirdling portions having inner side portionsadjacent to and extending below said crotch portion, said inner sideportions each having a median line formed by stitching extendingdownwardly from the midportion of said inner side portions, a pair ofbone receiving pockets on the inner surface of each of said inner sideportions extending downwardly from adjacent said crotch midportion, thepockets forming each of said pairs extending one on either side of saidmedian line and away from each other and said median line so that saidpockets form the sides and said lower peripheral portion the base of agenerally triangular figure the apex of which is located adjacent to themedian marginal portion of said crotch portion, and a plurality ofresilient bones one extending in each of said pockets.

7. A girdle, comprising body and crotch portions, said crotch portionbeing elongated and extending longitudinally between the front and theback of said body portion, the lower portion of said body portionforming leg engirdling portions each of which has an inner side portionadjacent to and extending below said crotch portion,'

said inner side portions each having a median line extending downwardlyfrom adjacent to the horizontal median line of said crotch portionelliptical stiffener receiving pockets one on each of said inner sideportions and extending from adjacent to said crotch portion toward thelower peripheral portion of said inner side portions, the major axis ofeach of said elliptical pockets extending substantially along the medianline of the corresponding one of said inner side portions, and aresilient highly flexible serpentine wire member in each of saidelliptical pockets and terminating short of said crotch portion.

8. A girdle, comprising body and crotch portions, said crotch portionbeing elongated and extending longitudinally between the front and theback of said body portion, the lower portion of said body portionforming leg engirdling portions each of which has an inner side portionadjacent to and extending below said crotch portion, said inner sideportions each having a median line extending downwardly from adjacent tothe horizontal median line of said crotch portion, stitfener receivingpockets on said inner side portions extending divergcntly from adjacentto said crotch portion toward the lower peripheral portion of said innerside portions on either side of the median line of each of said innerside portions, and a resilient highly flexible serpentine wire member ineach of said pockets and terminating short of said crotch portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,300,153 Herbener Oct. 27, 1942 2,406,215 Gliues Aug. 20, 19462,458,712 Kops Jan. 11, 1949 2,505,616 Goldberg Apr. 25, 1950 2,620,473Bayer Dec. 9, 1952 2,644,946 Menz et al. July 14, 1953 2,696,003Herbener Dec. 7, 1954 2,729,821 Frendenberg Jan. 10, 1956 2,774,073Herbener 1 Dec. 18, 1956

